Celebrating international collaboration through digital exchange
By Global Cities, Inc., a Program of Bloomberg Philanthropies
Global Cities is dedicated to enhancing communication among global cities and cultivating the next generation of global citizens.
Global Scholars teachers and school administrators from Madrid welcomed their counterparts from Taipei on Wednesday for a celebration of international collaboration. Through Global Scholars, our pioneering digital exchange program, we emphasize professional development and a supportive global network for teachers as well as students. It includes a robust teachers’ community online as part of our mission to provide middle school students with opportunities for international conversations about important global issues in e-classrooms. This live visit allowed that collaboration to deepen.
“We need all people, all citizens of all countries to solve a problem like climate change,” said Global Cities Board Member Bob Orr, welcoming the delegation from Taipei to Madrid. “What better way than to start with 10-year-olds?”
Dr. Orr welcomed participants in English, Spanish, and Mandarin Chinese, languages he speaks fluently from time spent in Peru and Taiwan. He serves as dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Policy and special advisor to the United Nations secretary-general on climate change. Bob drew on his experience working in climate change, educational leadership, and public policy to urge our educators to help students prepare for the local and global responsibilities they will assume as adult citizens.
The Taipei delegation included 16 Global Scholars teachers and school administrators, visiting the Madrid Regional Ministry of Education to learn from their expertise in implementing the Global Scholars curriculum in digital classrooms. We were delighted to host more than 100 of our educators at a welcome reception in Madrid. Our first Facebook Live conversation also took place with two educators from Madrid and two from Taipei who shared their experiences of international collaboration as participants in our program.